New to the forum, thought I would say hello

[Guest]

Hello everyone, i am very happy to have found what seems a really friendly site.

So about me...

I am in my 30's and find that I have a lot of spare time in between looking after my kids, so I thought I would find a hobby.

I tried online games, wasnt really for me and then I started watch a lot of old second world war films and reading about it.

I really enjoyed that and thought i could take the next step and try and build some of the machines from that time, my wife bought me a Revell Blohm & Voss BV138 c-1 /MS

So I am about to start my very first project and I am quite excited, I think the inner child has awoken so if anyone has any tips or advice for a complete newbie to the hobby, please feel free to share.

Well off to buy some glue and clippers, my wife didnt know that wasnt in the box hehe.

Nice to meet you all and looking forward to my stay here.

chris

[Guest]

Hi Chris - Welcome to the Forum!

If you're new to modelling you'll probably need a few modelling tools (sadly these aren't in the box either) A set of needle files is a must, along with some sheets of wet and dry paper. For filling the seams in fuselage, and the roots of the wings milliput modelling putty is great. Go for fine grade - it comes in a white box and is a two part putty that sets rock hard and can be filed and sanded for a great finish.

Another tool which is very useful is a Razor Saw, Zona make nice ones, they have very fine teeth and a narrow blade. Also a quality set of scalpel handles, pro-edge or exacto are really nice and useful for lots of crafts and hobbies too. The other must have is a self healing cutting matt - get an A3 one, they are nice non slip surface to cut on and work on and protect your worktop too.

For paints, Humbrol Enamels are very good quality, those are a little scarce nowdays and have been replaced with Revell Enamel. You can get the little tinlets for about £1.10 each. Very pricey but a great range of colours for military models. Enamel is a bit pongy though and you need turps or white spirit to clean the brushes, a more armoatic alternative is vallejo acrylic. I use those and like em.

Try to get hold of some Micro Set and some micro sol for helping to apply decals and budget a few quid for some nice quality artists sable brushes. Just apply paint by brush to begin with but for a better finish and to enable you to make some of the more interesting camo schemes an airbush is great to use.

For painting tiny parts prior to assembly you can use bluetack or glue little bits of sprue onto the back of them and clip clothes pegs on the end - make sure you buy new ones and don't pinch them off the washing line!

Have fun and post photos of the results on the forum! Oh - and of course ask lots of questions!

There's obviously lots more to learn but those are a few of the basics to start with. I'd get some form of bench mounted vice too. You can get a bolt down job and fix it to a piece of wood which you can clamp to the bench or get one of the higher quality ones that comes with a cast on clamp so you can attach it to a table. Acts as a very useful third hand.

Alan

[Guest]

Hi Chris and a warm welcome from me,

Always nice to see newcomers to the Hobby and you have certainly found the right place by joining us on here. Any questions you may have, please feel free to ask, there are plenty of people on here ready to help.

Have a browse at the many parts of the Forums too, you may find some questions already answered there, any new ideas or tips you come up with are more than welcome too.

I hope you enjoy yourself on here too.

Regards.......Mark

[Guest]

Hi! and welcome to the forum...I do remember the Blohm+Voss BV 141..?..,in 1:72 scale ( i think) made in the sixties by Airfix I believe. I know made one. Revolutionary in it's assymetrical design, with Engine powered fuselage, the cockpit was on one wing! This provided an unmistakable profile for anti aircraft gunners!

Wasn't it made in 1944-5 as the Wermacht was at the time primarily occupied with defending it's shrinking Reich?

I look forward to seeing the end result...a very interesting project...

All the best...jules

[Guest]

Hi Chris and a warm welcome to the forum. Glad you like what you see so far and we're looking forward to seeing a bit of what you build.

have a look through the tutorials forst, I did a back to basics a couple of years ago that you might find interesting and, most of all, enjoy your time here.

[Guest]

Thanks for the very warm welcome.

So I headed back to the model shop and bought some tools, proud owner now of some files, saw, knife etc ( thanks Alan2525 for the heads up on what I needed )

I was looking at the paint and was overcome by the choice you have, so many different colours, shades, makes and types of paint, I thought it best to do some research on whats best before I bought some.

With that in mind I decided to delay making my Blohm & Voss BV138 aircraft until I found out what paints are best to buy, I was thinking about the VMC paints, lots of colours, non toxic and my local shop has the full range, problem is trying to find a chart so I can compare the colours to the other makes so I can follow the instructions paint guide.

Thats when I saw a 1:35 revell LVT - (A)1 Amtank, this model I was informed I could happly build and paint when finished ( unlike the aircraft where the 2nd step was to paint the crew )

So I started this project last night, the hours just flew by, already after a few more hours today I am over half way into the build, learning so much and most likely made a few mistakes but great fun.

Once I get it built I will take some photos and then start to worry about the paint job.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Chris